Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Today's Endangered Animal Species:
Atlantic Salmon
A world traveler, the wild Atlantic salmon is an anadromous fish - one that spawns in fresh water but spends much of its life at sea. According to the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Atlantic salmon is in danger of extinction.
The historic range of the Atlantic salmon included the North Atlantic with freshwater tributaries from Ungava Bay to Lake Ontario and southward to Connecticut in North America, and from Russia's White Sea to Portugal on the European coast.
While many of these salmon runs are now reduced or extinct, Atlantic salmon can still be found in the rivers of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, France, Spain, Canada and the United States.
Threats
The Atlantic salmon's sensitivity to environmental change and its dependence upon both fresh and saltwater habitats have made it sensitive to environmental pressures and high-seas overfishing. Numbers have dropped greatly in the past 50 years, and between 1994 and 1999 the number of adult fish available to return to North American rivers is estimated to have dropped from approximately 200,000 to 80,000. The Atlantic salmon is in peril on both sides of the Atlantic: Populations are at their lowest point in recorded history, and catches have declined precipitously.
Other useful links:
North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization
